A writer pours his heart out in his words but a director has a different
approach. If the writer is boundless in writing his story, the director is
confined while saying it. Critics have argued over the years that a book when
adapted into a film will not substantiate the beauty of words and imagination
the author has stimulated.

Films like Wuthering Heights, To Kill a Mocking Bird, and recently, The
Lucky One, Twilight Saga and the unforgettable modern classics like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter series have been
stigmatized by the same cliché. The kind of stories authors write are not
limited by pages or the things that should be said and done most importantly,
while when the film is adapted the time constraint and the obvious stereotype
of being lost in translation affects the storytelling.

The debate is ongoing, some films turn into blockbusters not because it
follows the plot of the book word by word, but because the director has
imagination and know what to keep and what to ignore.

Ayesha Khan, Middlesex University Dubai student says, “I am an avid reader of
romance novels. I loved the book ‘The
Last Song’ by Nicholas Sparks, but when the film came out, I was
disappointed by the cast; the character was a rocker girl meets boy-next-door.
The story was distorted because of the storyline, which did not have the same
monotony, the same individuality of the protagonist.”

Covers of Dan Brown's book and film adaptation of 'Da Vinci Code'
Which one did you prefer? Comment below!

According to Manipal University Dubai media student, Presley Viegas, “Books would never compare to films. You cannot cramp a book into two
hour film and do justice to it. Take Da
Vinci Code as an example for someone who didn’t read the book, it would be a good film,”

After a lot of consideration, Viegas who specializes in television and video production concludes that when you weigh what
book and film adaptations achieve for readers or audiences, both are on par as
mediums.

While final year television student, Nabila Sharani who studies in Manipal University Dubai, still prefers her books to films for she believes
that when you read the book, you create the world in your head and your
imagination is set free. But when you watch a film, it’s all given to you and
sometimes it may not do justice to that imagination.

The debate shall continue, for its a never ending battle between movie fans
and book fanatics, for now all we can say is, to each its own.